Sunday, May 07, 2006

The wedding was just as wonderful as predicted. The bride and groom were beaming, and everyone was relaxed. We had a great time - a little dinner, a little wine, a little dancing. Riley was too sick to go, but Web came home to go with us. Turns out Riley has a nasty viral infection. Eric is feeling much better and went to work Friday. Anyway, my parents, both my sisters and one of my brothers (with their families) were there, as well as all my cousins.

Now for the test run...

TA DA! I did it! I ran 7.4 miles in 1:31:34, average hr of 147, max hr of 165. I maxed on some of the later hills. I walked two extra times on short, steep hills. And best of all - I felt great! I was jumping around and cheering at the finish, prompting all kinds of laughing and hugs. I am signing up for the race! Check out the elevation for the race here: STN elevation chart.

So now I'm thinking two things. First, I'm going to pass on my planned second run today. I realized I ramped up pretty quick this week - I went back to my normal morning mileages, added a Tuesday afternoon run, and went longer than normal today. I don't want to get hurt, so I'll cut run number two today. Second, I think what I'll do is stick with my run/walk routine and try to keep my HR below 160. I'm not going to push for speed - instead I'm going to go for distance. Though I was successful at this run today, I still need to use a little caution. I'm hoping to run the Haulin Aspen half while Eric is running the full. Sonya, Jenny and I are thinking we'll go out and go easy and see what we can do. It's at a high altitude and it'll be really hot, but we want to give it a shot.

Now about my sore foot...I am a Birkenstock girl - probably in them 90% of the time. My other shoes are my running shoes, my hiking boots and a couple of pairs of Dansko clogs. I also have a pair of Dansko Maryjane-type shoes. I wore those to the wedding last night - spent a lot of time on my feet either talking or dancing. During the night I woke up with my right foot aching - the outside of the arch area. Being the foolish runner that I am, I popped a couple Advil and went off to run. It didn't bother me during the run (thanks to the Advil) but is aching again now. I'm going to ice it and rest it today and tomorrow. This tends to happen to me whenever I wear my other shoes (read: not birkies). Now, my choice would be to wear the birkies everywhere, but even I can look in the mirror and realize when they are not cutting it fashion-wise. I don't know how the rest of you manage to wear high-heeled, pointy-toed shoes and not have your feet kill you the next day! Or do they and you just live with it? Birkie-girls want to know!

I'm a birkenstock girl myself, so I don't really have any advice. I tried wearing "pretty" shoes for awhile, because Payless Shoe Source starting stocking them in wide widths, but they just hurt so much!

Funny you should mention high heels. I had to run in them this weekend but miraculously avoided sore feet afterward. A fluke, I'm sure. Wow, you're really moving up in the mileage after your surgery. Good going!

As for shoes, I've gone through phases... but never a "birkkie" phase, I must admit. I like pretty shoes and I have a closet full of them... I just end up opting for cloggy type things almost every time I head out the door. Sad, eh?

I have done the high heel thing, too. They say it is all in the placement of the heel (spike). Apparently, if it is in line with your leg bone, it shouldn't hurt. If it is too far towards your achilles, you're doomed. I think I would concur (and I believe it was a drag queen who told me that -- s/he should know - 5" heels are just insane, if you ask me - no matter how they're lined up!)

I am a high heel girl during the day and really don't have problems w/the heels. I did wear clogs for about 3 months after my foot injury w/all of my suits just for recovery/comfort purposes. I would not have won any fashion contests.